Adjunctive Procedures for Dental Implants

What are Adjunctive Procedures

An adjunctive procedure is an additional procedure that may be required before, during, or after treatment to ensure the success of a dental implant. Some patients may require these procedures to ensure the implant is surrounded by a healthy quantity of bone. These adjunctive procedures may include bone grafting, root coverage, and crown elongation surgery. 

Bone Grafting

At your dental implants consultation, there’s a chance you may be told you need bone grafting may be necessary prior to your implant procedure. Please know that while bone grafting sounds scary, it is a routine procedure that is both painless and predictable- performed under general anesthesia.

Bone grafting is needed when a patient does not have an adequate amount of bone material or dentistry to support the dental implants. In this case, we are able to reinforce the bone and supporting tissues by transplanting new, healthy bone material. 

It can take several months to one year for the bone graft to fuse with the natural bones in your mouth. Because everyone’s body is different, there is no exact timeframe for this process. Once the graft has successfully fused, your implant treatment may begin.

Root Coverage (Gum Graft)

Another common procedure that may be necessary before getting dental implants in Southlake is a gum graft. Gum grafting is a procedure that addresses gums that have receded too far by covering the exposed root surface, or it can also help thicken existing gums.

Gum grafts are performed under a local anesthetic, but sedation options are available if desired. A small layer of tissue is removed from your palate or an adjacent tooth and is then transplanted onto the receded area. A few sutures may be used to prevent any shifting. Following the gum grafting procedure, recovery time generally takes several weeks. Once the healing process is complete, your implant treatment may begin.

Crown Elongation (Crown Lengthening)

Crown lengthening is another type of adjunctive procedure for dental implants. This treatment is intended to remove excess gum tissue to make room for a dental implant crown, but it also has the added cosmetic benefit of addressing a “gummy” smile. 

For the stability of the final restoration or crown, there needs to be enough structure available for it to hold its place. Performed under local anesthesia, the gums are shaped or contoured by a laser instrument to expose more of the tooth’s surface where necessary. Once the procedure is finished and after several weeks of healing, your implant treatment may begin.

When it comes to adjunctive procedures at DaVinci Dentistry, you can rest assured that our oral health professionals, brothers Dr. Raed Ajlouni and Dr. Khal Ajlouni, are highly experienced in implant dentistry. Dr. Khal is the only board-certified prosthodontist in the Mid-Cities area, and both are university professors with more than 40 years of combined experience, which means they are prepared to walk you through every step of your implant surgery and any procedures you may need.